Cranes and New Mexico

Anyone know when is the best time (and places) to film cranes in Bosque?

Thanks for any and all advice.

Bill

Second week of November seems to be when most of the workshops and tours are scheduled. That's consistent with what I heard at a George Lepp seminar 2 weeks ago.

That sounds right. The schedule for workshops and tours are 14-19th (see http://www.friendsofthebosque.org/crane/. I have a few images on the net from a trip a couple of years ago and noticed that the exif showed Nov 18th.

http://www.pbase.com/harold_s/bosque

The annual crane festival will be Nov 14-19. I'm sure there are many things to enjoy at the festival, but you might want to consider a less crowded time for a photo trip.

There will be a full moon Dec 4. I hope my schedule works out to be there that week.
I visited during the first week in January this year. A bit cold in the mornings, but still a wonderful time to visit. So, any time between mid November and March is a good time to visit Bosque for cranes.

For some details on where to shoot - see part 4 of this guide:
http://www.rpphoto.com/howto/bosque/bosque_part1.asp

I understand some of the ponds (north of visitor's center) will be drained this year.
It will be interesting to see where the cranes end up roosting. The area is not very large. Just find the place with the highest density of white lenses.

Thanks Bill, Harold and everyone. One question, the full moon Bill?? You intend to shoot cranes by moonlight, help me understand, maybe you mean to shoot cranes flying in at dusk with the full moon in the shot??? Silhouettes maybe. Sounds like a challenging exposure situation.

Bill



Bill

Those weekends mentioned are likely to be crazy. From what I here, things remain good to early January. In fact, the Whooping Crane is more likely to be found a little bit later. Can't go wrong, from Nov to Dec.

I really usedto like going the weekend before Thanksgiving since the birds will be the closest to the road. But anytime from mid-November to New Years is a good time.

Scott

One question, the full moon Bill?? You intend to shoot cranes by moonlight, help me understand, maybe you mean to shoot cranes flying in at dusk with the full moon in the shot??? Silhouettes maybe.

Yes, there are enough birds flying to make a long lens silhouette actually possible. I may not have the skills/luck to pull that off.

Also, the moon is a nice compositional element. In addition to the birds, there are good landscape possibilities, and I'd like to experiment more with long moonlight exposures.

Here's a twilight shot from the Flight Deck - all the birds were in the opposite direction:
http://www.pelzmann.smugmug.com/photos/17373466-O.jpg

In fact, the Whooping Crane is more likely to be found a little bit later.

Brian, from what I understood, it has been many years since the last Whooping Crane was seen at Bosque. Is your comment based on a recent sighting??

Bill, I've not seen one or met anyone that has. It's a rare event, but I've heard from some reliable people that if you're going to see one, it will likely be later in the fall/early winter.